The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Address
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the talk where he urged the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".
“This intentionally deceptive, carefully cut footage from the BBC further proves they are entirely, 100% fake news, unworthy of airtime on the screens of the UK's admirable citizens.”
Leavitt continued: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins my day listening to their blatant propaganda and lies about the president of the United States and all that he’s doing to make America better and the world a safer place."
Disclosed Memo Emphasizes Editing Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his role recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage published stated: "It was completely misleading to edit the clip in the way Panorama aired it. The fact that he did not explicitly exhort supporters to go down and fight at Capitol Hill was one of the reasons there were no federal charges for incitement to riot."
Allegations of Widespread Problems
The report allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage
The lengthy file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Response
In answer, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"Michael Prescott is a former adviser to a board committee where differing views and opinions of our coverage are routinely discussed and debated.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
